Day 210 Honeydew

July 7, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th years where I write and illustrate a blog on each
day’s gift.)

Whoever would have guessed that there is a
symbiotic macro world right outside my door? A cluster of moving black spots on
a potted weed alerted me to this tiny world. Even with eyeglasses, I could not
see what was there, so I looked through my camera’s macro lens, snapped a few
photos and then enlarged an image on my big screen monitor. Amazing!

What I had originally thought was a group of ants really
turned out to be aphids and their ant herders. I have learned that the aphids feast
on the plant and then excrete waste called honeydew. Ants love the
aphids’ poop, which happens to be high in sugar content. Sometimes the
sugar-greedy and impatient ants even milk the aphids by stroking them with
their antennae. However, if this is done
too much, the aphids lose the ability to defecate on their own and then they
cannot live without their ants.

Sometimes real life can replicate the natural world
in unusual ways. For instance, in our modern culture, humans have a symbiotic
relationship with technology, especially their smart phones: friends and family
have constant access to me through my iPhone; my pharmacy texts me when my
prescription is ready; if I buy something from an art festival, my credit card
is swiped on another iPhone; I conduct business when I upload my cell phone
photos to Getty. And so on.

How did I ever live without a smart phone? Have I
been milked too much by my digital herder?